The employee, however,
didn't stop his efforts to illegally obtain information about Social Security
beneficiaries after being confronted by investigators last year, according
to a plea deal in the case.

Flowers pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count
of theft of government property, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The identity theft charge carries a mandatory two-year
sentence and the sentences on the other charges must run consecutive to that. The
wire fraud charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and the theft
charge a sentence of up to 10 years.

Under the terms of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's
Office filed this week, prosecutors will drop seven other charges against
Flowers.

The indictment against Flowers states that the
crimes happened between May 2013 and July 2013 when Flowers was a claims
representative in the Social Security Administration's Birmingham office.

As a claims representative, Flowers' duties included,
but were not limited to, obtaining, clarifying and verifying information which
will be used to analyze claims and make decisions regarding entitlement to
benefits, according to the statement. His job gave him access to Social
Security Administration databases, including the National Computer Center,
which houses records for Social Security beneficiaries, according to court
documents.

Flowers used his access to accounts and
identifying information of beneficiaries, including Social Security numbers, to
cause the administration to issue payments to claimants and beneficiaries, and
directed each payment into accounts that he controlled at Republic Bank of
Chicago and Regions Bank, according to court documents.

He successfully received $4,243 and attempted to get thousands
more before being detected, according to his plea agreement.

After being confronted, Flowers admitted to Social Security
Administration Office of Inspector General investigators in a written statement
on June 27, 2013 that he needed the money for his child's mother and admitted
his wrongdoing and apologized for his mistake, according to the plea agreement.
But investigators later learned that Flowers had contacted a fellow Social
Security employee in July 2013 trying to obtain information about two other
Social Security beneficiaries, according to the agreement.

The co-worker located in Tulsa, Okla., alerted the Social
Security Administration after realizing Flowers was actually on administrative
leave, according to the plea agreement. Flowers
later resigned.